Blah

I think I have that disease where you get down in the dumps due to lack of sunlight. That’s it, I need sunlight! I have to take the next week, maybe two, off of work and go some place warm and sunny. I would not want my condition to worsen.

Bowling

As many of you may know I am not an avid bowler. When I was in junior high I played in a league. Our team was made up of all cousins except me. I was friends with one of the girls. Anyways, in between games one of the cousins, Kelly, liked to sit on the step at the back of the lanes. Her mom was always telling her not to sit there because she would get hurt. (Do you see the direction this story is headed?) Well just before our third game Kelly was sitting on the step and I had to bowl first. I asked her to move out of the way so I could start. She moved directly behind me. I looked to make she was no longer sitting to my right and I did not see her. I swung the bowling ball back and heard a crack. I thought I hit the ball return. The sound of the splitting was not that of the plastic ball return but rather Kelly’s skull. When I turned around she was pasted out on the floor. My friend was so mad, I though she might just hit me with her bowling ball. Luckily Kelly’s mom saw the whole thing including me telling Kelly to move because I needed to bowl. Her mom said, “Well she always has to learn lessons the hard way.”

Even though this was a total accident I have shied away from bowling ever since. Consequently I am not a very good bowler when I do go bowling. This past weekend Nathan and I went bowling with some of his work friends and I bowled a 116! To many that score may not seem like much but that’s record breaking for me. I was so excited. Nathan also bowled a great game; he got a 175. By the way I told my tragic bowling story to my band last year before we went bowling and every time I went to bowl at least three kids yelled, “She Hit Me!” Apparently that never gets old when you are in junior high.

DDR

So I played DDR for the first time the other night. DDR stands for Dance Dance Revolution. DDR is that machine you see in arcades that has the different foot petals that you follow along to a screen with dance moves. I first heard about this a few years ago from my students. It is still just as popular as ever and many of my kids have a home version. Over winter break, my husband said he had better rhythm than I did and challenged me to a dance off. Unfortunately the DDR machine was broken at the movie theater we were at so the challenge had to be postponed.

This past Saturday we were early to a theater we were meeting some friends at and Nathan threw down the gauntlet again. Although I had never played this game before, I was confident I could beat Nathan. I know I have a better sense of rhythm than he does! To make a long story short, we played three rounds on the beginner level and I won ever time! The game is pretty fun. I recommend giving it a try if you never have before.

puppies and books

I want a puppy! Unfortunately, the man I live with does not want one. I am pretty sure I want a Beagle…I am a sucker for floppy ears. Look at this face, how could you resist this face???

Well, Nathan can, that's who. I even have his name picked out, Philip Sparke. That is actually the name of a band composer I am a big fan of. His name is pronounced Spark, but I would just call the puppy Sparke. I understand Nathan’s point that we should have a backyard. It will be a way bigger pain in the butt to have to take the dog out every morning rather than just opening the door to a backyard. But, they are so cute. I have done a little bit of reading about them. They are supposed to be smart and very good with kids, but they can be strong willed and hard to train. They can be an inside or outside dog but they do like to howl. Before I actually got one I would want to spend some time with the dog to make sure their temperament was what I was looking for. It would probably also be a good idea to talk with a vet. But here I am going on about a dog I will not be getting any time soon L.

In other news I finished a book called Maybe A Miracle by Brian Strause. It was pretty good, I would give it seven out of ten stars. If you are looking for a nice light read definitely give this book a go. Also if you are Catholic or a baseball fan you will probably enjoy this book. The central character is a teenage boy who is fairly jaded and witty, but only in his own head. That is a concept I think we can all relate to on some level. I know I always have the best comeback several minutes after the situation has ended. Although I do think I am getting better at that sort of thing as I get older.

Happy New Year

What to do on New Year’s Eve? That question always seems like such a big deal to people my age. In the last few years a familiar new year’s gang has formed and we always have a lot of fun. My buddy Racheal and I have spent more New Year’s Eve’s together than not since high school. As we got married our hubbies were brought into the fold. The group then progressed into four couples adding in our friends Julie and Matt along with their spouses. Not that we have spent every new years together or that we always do the same thing. One year we all went to a Japanese restaurant where the chef does all the knife tricks. Another time some of us went to Navy Pier.

This year we decided to do a pot luck dinner at my place. We enjoyed good food, laughs, and board games. It always seem like when ever we get together with a group and play games it turns into boys verses girls. It is funny that no matter how old we get that seems to be everyone’s favorite way to divide into teams. Why is that? Anyways for those of you interested the boys won at Scene It and the girls won Taboo. I knew the boys would win at Scene It because Nathan has a freakish ability at that game. Take my advice if you are every playing that game and Nathan is an option as a team member, pick him. Or better yet have it be everyone verses Nathan and see how you do.